Friday, March 9, 2012

signs of the times

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-- In Detroit, people are so distressed in one way or another that they are giving up their pets and dogs are roaming the streets, untended to. This has led to a proposal to create a shelter in which no animal will be put to death -- a proposition the ASPCA has not been able to actualize, but some new group thinks it can. Wild dogs in a major city ... what does that say about our economic times?

-- Fearful that their island archipelago may be wiped out by rising, globally-warmed seas, Kiribati is considering a back-up plan -- buying $9.6 million worth of Fiji as a point for future refuge.

-- Coca-Cola and Pepsi, neither of whom wish to affix what could be a mandated cancer label, are changing the formula of their soft-drink offerings. Basically, it's just a change in coloration, but still ... Coke and Pepsi changing the winning formulas?

-- In the United Kingdom,

The move to ban public prayers in tiny Bideford — and potentially across all of England and Wales — has erupted into a national proxy fight over the question of whether Christianity should still hold a privileged place in a modern, diverse and now highly secular society.

-- And in the United States, the protected realm of religious institutions has come under fire by lenders unwilling to shoulder unpaid church debt. They are foreclosing at record levels. It's a dog-eat-dog world -- and not just in Detroit. The maxim these days seems to be, "let the big dog eat!"
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My name is Adam Fisher. My Dharma name is Genkaku. I live in Northampton, Mass., U.S.A. This is my blog. It consists of almost-daily postings -- sometimes about the Zen Buddhism I have admired and practiced; sometimes about other 'spiritual' matters; and mostly about whatever strikes my fancy. Except to the extent that it might help others to consider what kind of fool they would prefer not to be, this blog does not aim to help anyone. Since we are all helping each other all the time, that would be fatuous. This blog is simply a testament to the fact that I have a long and as-yet unbroken habit of writing. I write so ... I write. Behind the house here, there is a small meditation hall, Black Moon Zendo, where the public is welcome to come and practice. I can be contacted at genkakukigen@aol.com